The preteens look through the glass in awe. And no wonder, for it has snowed. Miu rushes outside and bellyflops in the snow. Then she sits in the snow (in a shortish skirt, effectively putting her bottom right on the snow; yeep! I shiver to think) to form a snowball. She gets up and throws it with a cry of "Take this!". It impacts the ground. She realizes something. She turns and sees the others back sitting around the kotatsu. Nobue tells her to shut the door.
Episode 16: A Japanese Christmas
(The girls stand in a plain snowscape. Chika stands the closest, hands out. Her sweatshirt has SFA on it, which I am now confident refers to the Super Furry Animals
, because of the umbrella Ana is holding over herself and Matsuri, which has Rings Around The World on it. The two are standing back to back. Farthest away, and sitting in the snow, is Miu. Second closest is Nobue, smoking.)
Miu comes back in, demanding to know what's wrong with the rest of them; they have snow! Chika says yes, and it's really freezing out there. Miu brings up the argument that they're kids, and therefore, they play in the snow. She also starts trying to drag Chika outside. Chika brings up the argument that she doesn't want to. But Miu does manage to get Chika outside. Nobue notices Ana watching after them, and asks if she wants to go, and why she's restraining herself. Ana is afraid of Miu, so Nobue advises just staying away from her. Matsuri asks if Nobue will go with them. Nobue seems surprised.
Outside, Nobue asks the younger two, who seem to be rolling up a large ball of snow, if they aren't dying of cold. Matsuri says it's chilly but it's all right. Nobue figures that it's because they're young, but her advanced age (of 16?!?) makes her susceptible to frostbite. As she's explaining this, she starts being pegged with snowballs. First one, then two, then several as she tells them to stop, then even more as she flees them. She falls face down in the snow, snowballs on head and back. Ana looks. Miu holds her arms up and roars. Nobue starts spraying Miu with the hose, making her flee and fall. Nobue holds her arms up. Ana, on the other side of a one-armed snowman, does the same, and roars. Matsuri sneezes a couple of times, apparently cuing Nobue that it's time for them to go in.
A pair of bare feet stick out from under the kotatsu. Somebody notices that tomorrow's Christmas. Chika can't wait to open presents. Nobue notes that since she's an "old lady" in high school, she doesn't get presents. Somebody asks if she doesn't have special plans; she does not. Chika teases her about being single and desperate, earning her a swat to the back of the head. Matsuri asks Nobue if she really doesn't get presents once she's in high school. Nobue says that's the way it goes in her family. Matsuri is confused about the "in my family" part, for reasons we'll see in a little while. Miu, the one under the kotatsu, says someone's buying her new outfits. Matsuri is confused about the "buying" part, for reasons we'll see shortly. Nobue asks about her. She doesn't know, but she asked for the new Harry Potter book. Nobue wonders who she asked; she replies that she asked Santa-san. This prompts a severe attempt at suppressing laughter on the part of the other girls. This confuses Matsuri, too, prompting her to ask if they're okay. Nobue tells her to wait a second. She puts on a merely smiling face, then turns her face and splutters briefly before turning back to tell Matsuri she hopes she gets her book. Miu, gets out from under the kotatsu, and is about to reveal the truth, but is tossed back out into the snow.
That night, somebody (I'm going to assume Chika for now) asks what they're doing out there again. Nobue says they're there to show her Santa Claus and protect her sweet childhood innocence. Now we see Miu dressed as Santa... and Nobue, Chika, and Ana in reindeer costumes. Chika is sleepy, and Ana is yawning, but Nobue tells them to hang in there; they'll be in and out. One of the becostumed girls says she's not sure how Miu convinced them they had to dress up, as well; Miu says Santa has to have "Randolph" and the reindeer, because of the song. Nobue wonders how it is that Miu has so many costumes. (The first one being the previous: the hat with cat ears, and accompanying tail.) Never mind why she has one that fits Nobue. My guess is that one or both of her parents owns a costume shop. Anyway, Chika sees someone coming and wants to hide. It's a guy and girl, out on a walk. Nobue figures it's okay, since they're not doing anything illegal. Plus, they're in disguise. Chika points out that it's incredibly embarrassing.
It's a guy and girl out for a walk. Looks like a Christmas date in progress. The guy wonders what's going on, while the girl squees over the cuteness. She goes over to Miu and one of the other two preteens to ask if there's a parade or if it's a costume show. Well, no. The guy asks what the ladies are up to; Nobue asks what business it is of his. He says to take it easy, he's just ask—ing, but Nobue back-kicks him in the stomach and tells him to take that easy, and to shut up and mind his own business. The girl is surprised by the attack, but I guess they leave. Nobue is disgusted by... couples in general, it seems, and bets that particular one will be broken up by tomorrow. (That is, if you didn't just drive them closer together.) Chika thinks she needs anger management.
Once at Matsuri's, they ponder how to get in. The front door? Probably locked. Miu finds a ladder, and while it's a start, Nobue wonders how they're going to open the window. They then notice... it already is open! She figures Matsuri left it open for him. It almost makes Nobue wish he would actually show up. I guess "Santa-san" doesn't actually muck about with chimneys if he doesn't have to, in their culture.
Once inside, they find her sleeping. By her pillow is, as Nobue confirms, the new Harry Potter book. (I guess he doesn't necessarily muck about with trees, either, if he can't get to one.) She figures her folks know her pretty well, and she is their only child. Then Nobue turns her attention to Matsuri, and kisses her. Chika asks what she thinks she's doing, but Nobue says she couldn't help it; she looked so cute.
Matsuri is awakened by this... well, sort of. She's still groggy. Chika uses telepathy to tell "Santa" to do something (hey, if Yotsuba can have Mind Control Eyes...), but Miu doesn't know what to say, except...
She strikes a martial-arts-esque pose. Her left arm is in a diagonal in front of her lower face, while her right arm is bent at roughly a right angle, down and forward, with an underhanded fist. "Merry!"
Now she does that crane... pose... thing. "Christmas!"
She's tossed out the second-story window. Matsuri doesn't notice, and asks Nobue if she's Santa. Nobue says she is, and apologizes for waking her up. She says she has a lot of work ahead of her, so Matsuri tells him "Ganbatte!" She thanks her, and tells her g'night.
Back outside, the reindeer-disguised girls talk. Chika remarks how she didn't notice the three "Randolphs" in her room. Nobue notes that her eyesight is terrible, and she's half-asleep. Chika notes that they could've worn normal clothes and done it. Nobue figures the important thing is that they kept the dream alive. Then they look over and see... Miu still face-down in the snow.
The next day, Chika has what looks like music C Ds. Ana is holding a teddy bear. Miu is wearing a dress with a fuzzy collar. She's holding a side up, exposing a bit of hip to the reader. She asks Nobue how cute she thinks it looks. Nobue says it looks cute, but also cold. She asks Matsuri if Santa visited her; she answers in the affirmative, and shows her book. Nobue thinks to herself how they must've pulled it off.
Somebody addresses her. It's Chika, presenting Nobue with a box containing an outfit. She explains that since Nobue said she wasn't getting any presents this year, they all got together. Nobue thanks them. One of them points out that she's blushing, which she denies. Another urges her to try it on.
Exterior shot. The words "Merry Christmas" with a heart are above the house.
The kids' unified reaction? "It looks terrible on you!" and giggling. Nobue? "What?! Very nice!! You punks picked it out! You planned this, didn't you?!"
HALLO WORK
Ana as an elevator attendant, and Sasazuka as a fencer. (Don't ask me whether that's a foil, an epée, or a saber. I only know that there's a difference, not what those differences are.)
Next time: well... Episode 17.
(No, I'm not tired of doing these, just trepiditious about doing this chapter.)
